Key oil industry player Aiteo on Tuesday confirmed that the fire reported within its Right Of Way (ROW) of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) on April 21, 2019 “has been completely put out”.

“The Security team conducted further inspections at various times yesterday and confirms this position,” a statement issued by the company in Lags said.

It said that “in line with regulatory requirements, a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) comprising security and regulatory agencies as well as community representatives and Aiteo personnel will be constituted and deployed to the site to attend to the necessary incident formalities. This team is expected at the incident site imminently.

“The Joint Task Force on Security team has confirmed that sabotage of the pipeline at Awoba was responsible; has identified some culprits and is set to act as is necessary.

“Aiteo is working on further site preparation and mobilisation of specialised equipment to the swamps for further remedial action to facilitate a quick return to full functionality. Further information will be made available as soon as these occur.”